midlands_usafandomcom-20200214-history
FAQ
So what is the purpose of this wiki? Basically to organize anything and everything the world knows about the state of Midlands into one easily accessible database. One night I was chatting with fellow mockers and lamenting the fact that we couldn't easily look up fun facts about old cases without combing through PDF after PDF, and when tweeting AMTA about it didn't do anything, I decided I'd hitch up my bootstraps and be the one to get the ball rolling! Who are the admins? So far just me, the creator of this wiki. My username is Lilac-Kat, and I'm a fourth-year college mocker from the real midlands of the U.S. I started working on this wiki in early 2018 and while it's far from complete, I'm eager for y'all to know about it. As the creator I hold the position of Bureaucrat, and I haven't appointed any Administrators underneath me yet. As time goes on and more people join this community, I might consider appointing a few users who prove themselves to be trustworthy, but in the meantime it's just easier for me to handle the administration stuff myself. Is this wiki's existence legal? Probably yes. The AMTA site and rule book refers to all case materials as their "intellectual property" but then goes on to explain only that the license required to use said materials doesn't extend to hosting tournaments or conducting other fee-based activities. In other words, nothing is explicitly stated in the rule book about using AMTA property for other non-educational reasons, like this one. So my rationale is that as long as I (and all of you) don't insert or directly link to any actual documents from the AMTA site onto this wiki, it should be fine. After all, the content of this wiki is intended merely to be a paraphrase of the original materials' contents, not official word-for-word transcripts that can be used in a trial anywhere. (If you're still unsure, remember that similar logic applies to the "Mock Trial Memes for Salty Teams" group we all know and love on Facebook, as well as public Prezis or other projects you can find detailing various cases with a quick Google search. Furthermore, honest intentions were behind that site's conception, just as with this one.) That said, I literally have no clue if AMTA will sanction me for creating this or if I'm just being paranoid by imagining that could happen (since there have been a lot of sanctions lately). But just in case, PLEASE don't do anything blatantly illegal that could potentially get myself and this wiki in hot water (see rules below). C'mon, we are mature adults with courtroom experience to boot, we know better than that. Why isn't there more info on cases from before 2013? Because access to all the case files from before Allen v. Neptune is denied (at least to me) by the AMTA website. I literally only have the synopses to go on for everything between 2000-2012, and absolutely no info on cases before 2000. However, if anyone out there reading this somehow has access to FULL CASE FILES that aren't accessible by me, or is willing to pay the fee for inaccessible case files, please post a message on my wall to let me know, and we'll work out a way to put information on this wiki without violating the AMTA rule about distributing case materials to other schools/students (because that IS explicitly mentioned in their rule book). EDIT: 'Holy crap, someone dug up records dating back to 1987. Thank you for adding all those, anonymous user!!! Also, why do some cases have a lot more info than others do? Because I have a life and I can't work on this 24/7. This is why I would ''LOVE more contributors doing things like filling in page details (i.e. anything that says TBA), creating new pages, writing/posting '''accurate info on cases that I didn't participate in (which include all NCT cases and anything before Winter v. TBD), and so on. So please, don't be shy! You mentioned there were rules? Hoo boy, yes there are! Unfortunately I don't trust y'all enough to know for sure you won't do something unwise if I didn't lay down any guidelines, so here they are: General * Just use your best judgement about what is and isn't okay. Again, we all have courtroom experience, this shouldn't be hard. * Spamming will not be tolerated under any circumstances (see "Contributions" for more details). * I can't see us having this issue, but just in case, this is not a fan fiction site. Therefore, no original stories or ultra-extensive case theories on here, please. Talking about case theories, etc. in the comment sections and in forums/blogs is probably fine to an extent, but certainly won't be tolerated on article pages. * Not having read these policies is not an excuse for breaking the rules. * I repeat, not having read these policies is not an excuse for breaking the rules! Community * Absolutely no insulting, harassment, or cyber-bullying in any way, shape, or form will be tolerated. Since this can get you held in contempt of court in a real courtroom, this can get you blocked on here. * Also please no NSFW content. Why the hell would we need that on this wiki. * Comment sections are for constructive dialogue, not back-and-forth bickering. I've been on other wikis, I know all too well that this can definitely happen. * Since most of us are adults, swearing and profanity in comments and blog posts is fine by me, at least for the time being. Just don't abuse this privilege, and especially refrain from using profanity in article pages. Contributions * As I mentioned before, I'm currently the only one on this wiki with administrative privileges. If you want them too, you have to go above and beyond the call of duty to prove your worth to me. THIS DOES NOT MEAN BUGGING ME INCESSANTLY UNTIL I RELENT AND MAKE YOU AN ADMIN. If you do that, I will hold you in contempt of court and block you from this site. * That said, anyone with an account is allowed to add content to this wiki! Cool, right? :D So please, if you see anything that needs fixing, don't hesitate to either let someone know or sign up for a free account and fix it yourself! * Bearing that in mind, once again please don't spam. If it's not directly related to Midlands Canon (e.g. mock trial memes), it doesn't belong here. ** Re: memes, there's a Facebook page for that: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1891635291066928/ ** Also there's now a Discord server for college mock trialers to have a mass group chat! I don't own it and therefore don't have the add link, but if you get on Discord and search for "The Courthouse" then you should find it! * Also related, don't put any false information on here. (Or case spoilers, although why the frick anyone outside of AMTA would have access to that is beyond me.) Outdated stuff from prior case revisions is okay, as long as it's updated periodically to match the case changes. * DO NOT POST OFFICIAL AMTA DOCUMENTS ON HERE!!! I don't want us to get in trouble, that could spell doom for this wiki. Small portions of images from screenshots are probably okay since they are frequently used in public memes (e.g. the infobox pic on ''Winter v. TBD'', which I screenshotted and blew up), but nothing else is allowed. * Feel free to add any categories you think are needed to pages, but not excessively and not without reason. Otherwise this will count as spam. * Please use correct spelling/grammar/punctuation when editing articles. This should be a given. * Again, no swearing or profanity in article pages. * ABSOLUTELY NO VANDALISM. This will immediately put you in contempt of court. Waitwaitwait—did you say contempt of court??? Yes. If you egregiously violate any of these rules, you may end up getting yourself blocked from this wiki—which, since it's inspired by mock trial, will be referred to as contempt of court. That said, I am a merciful and benevolent being, so I will use my discretion in determining how necessary it is to block someone, and for how long the sentence will last. For example, depending on the severity of your rule violation, you could get a life sentence (aka permanently blocked) or only a month-long sentence (aka blocked for one month) or anywhere in between. I will also most likely let you off with a warning if it appears your violation of the rules was a minor and honest mistake. So other than that, y'all shouldn't have to worry. :) I think I got everything, but what if I have a question that isn't answered on here? Feel free to shoot me a message on my wall or ask anyone else you see on this site. Welcome to the wiki, and happy editing!